Keeping Up with Public Demand for ANSS Earthquake Information

Session: Weathering the Earthquake Storms: Crisis Communication Following Major Events
Type: Oral
Date: 4/28/2020
Time: 11:30 AM
Room: 215 + 220
Description: 

The USGS earthquake web pages and data feeds at earthquake.usgs.gov face unique challenges following newsworthy or widely-felt seismic events. More than a dozen situational awareness and scientific products from Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) members are available, including interactive maps, fatality and economic loss estimates, aftershock forecasts,and technical source parameter data. There are typically millions of page views and over a billion requests for data feeds every month, however, traffic levels surge by orders of magnitude to over 60,000 requests per second following significant events. The earthquake event pages were recently redesigned using a data-first approach to better meet demand during peak traffic. The 2019 Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence was the first real world test and, while the event pages performed as expected, USGS servers were overwhelmed due to external caching problems. The caching problems were quickly identified and fixed in the days that followed, and the new design handles traffic surges as expected. This change is one part of an ongoing process to improve access to ANSS Earthquake Information as we continue developing new data products and delivery methods.

Presenting Author: Jeremy Fee

Authors